Sports

St Peter’s sport continues to go from strength to strength, with the college fielding teams in basketball, cricket, croquet, darts, football, hockey, lacrosse, netball, pool, rowing, rugby, squash and tennis. Many sports compete in both a League, where teams play each other according to their division, and Cuppers, which is a knock-out tournament format.

St Peter’s shares a sports field with Hertford and Exeter colleges, providing two cricket pitches and pavilions, and two rugby and football pitches. Our rowers share a boat house with University College.

Sport at St Peter's is something which can be genuinely enjoyed by all, and Oxford provides facilities for a wide range of sports at a variety of standards, enabling students both to continue activities that they already enjoy and to try out something new. The Sports Formal during Hilary Term celebrates all achievements of the college and includes an alumnus guest speaker to talk about their sporting attainments at St Peter’s and beyond.

From the fiercely competitive to the most easy going of sports men and women, there is a sporting niche for everyone. You can find out more about just some of the sports on offer at St Peter’s in the drop-down sections below.

Men and women who compete at the highest level of their sport (typically in their Varsity Match against Cambridge) are awarded Blues (either full or half, depending on the sport). St Peter's has a strong tradition of fielding blues athletes (our first was awarded in 1932), and many Peterites represent Oxford at the university level of sport.

In 2018/19, the following individuals are playing at Blues level:

Tristan Louveaux (Rugby)

Sven Kernis (Rugby)

Tom Stileman (Rugby)

Emily Bamber (Rugby)

Isabella Gilpin (Rugby)

Alexa Copeland (Hockey)

Ellie Harrison (Hockey)

Arthur Hughes (Hockey)

Ram Choudry (Football)

Lucy Harper (Football – captain of the women’s team)

David Schramm (Skiing – captain of the men’s team)

Sooraj Mahesh (Lightweight rowing)

Christy Sadler (Swimming and Water Polo)

Felix Fardell (Fencing)

Jack Paget (Athletics Blue and President of the OUAC)

Ben Swanson (Cricket)

Daisy Brown (Waterpolo)

Past St Peter’s blues include former England cricketer Jamie Dalrymple and the current Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney. A full list, from 1932 to 2015, can be downloaded here.

Rowing is one of the archetypal Oxford sports, made famous by the annual Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race, which the two universities have been competing in since 1829. Rowing at Oxford, however, is so much more than this one event, and is open to students of all skill levels, from novices to experienced rowers.

Like every Oxford college, St Peter’s has its own boat club (SPCBC), whose history stretches back to the college’s founding in 1929. Training and competing on the Isis (another name for the Thames), the club is based in University College Boat House on the southern bank of the river opposite Christ Church Meadows. The college enters men’s and women’s teams in three annual Oxford intercollegiate regattas (also known as ‘bump’ races): Christ Church in Michaelmas Term for novices, Torpids in Hilary Term, and Summer Eights in Trinity Term.

Crews also aim to compete in external regattas. In previous years this has included Bristol, Bedford, Wallingford, Nottingham and Henley Royal regattas, and The Head of the River Race on the Tideway in London. SPCBC men and women have previously been selected to compete in the Oxford Blues boats against Cambridge.

But that’s just one side of belonging to SPCBC – equally as important are the social events where you get to know and bond with fellow Peterites and members of other sports clubs from other colleges. These include socialising regularly on the infamous Oxford ‘crewdating‘ scene, and a celebratory Boat Club Dinner after each regatta once a term.

Rugby is a sport in which St Peter’s can claim a long and distinguished tradition of excellence. It has won the main inter-college competition (known as ‘Cuppers’) on various occasions throughout its history. In 2018, the Men’s XV recorded the most comprehensive Division 1 title win in history, and narrowly lost the Cuppers final to the college’s great rival, St Edmund Hall. St Peter’s has also seen many of its students go on to represent the University in the annual Varsity Match, which is played at Twickenham.

Outside of the league and Cuppers competitions, the rugby team takes on former players in an annual Old Boys match, and also occasionally goes on tour (most recently to Bucharest).

With the formation of a mixed touch rugby team last year, there is growing participation of women in rugby at St Peter’s. Training in University Parks occurs once a week, with a mixture of both men and women of all standards.

St Peter’s currently fields teams in both the men’s and women’s football competitions. The Men’s 1st team are currently in Division 2, and notched up an impressive run of wins in the 2018 Cuppers competition, knocking out two Premier Division opponents to reach the quarter-finals. The Peter’s footballers have a vibrant social scene, whether it be playing a game of pool in the JCR, having a pint in the bar, or attending dinners as a team.

St Peter’s women play in a St Peter’s/St Hilda’s combined team, which is currently in Division 2. The team meets for a social every term at college formals, alternating between St Peter’s and St Hilda’s.

In Cuppers, St Peter’s competes in a combined team with Hertford College, which, in 2017/18 season reached the quarter-finals of the competition. A mixed team plays in the league, and enjoyed an unbeaten run in 2017/18. There is also a women’s hockey team joint with Jesus, which competes in Division 2 as well as Cuppers.

The St Peter’s cricket team competes in Division 2. Previous St Peter’s cricketers include Jamie Dalrymple (2000), who played for the English One Day International team and captained the Glamorgan County Cricket Club.

There is a JCR vs SCR cricket match every Trinity term, which has been won by the JCR for the last four years.